From: wthyde1953@gmail.com   
      
   Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:   
   > On Sat, 21 Feb 2026 17:10:17 -0500, William Hyde wrote:   
   >   
   >> Alas, the mass of the entire asteroid belt is not enough to   
   >> significantly increase the mass of Mars.   
   >   
   > I can remember some SF stories suggesting that the Asteroid Belt is   
   > the debris left over from a planet which was destroyed in an ancient   
   > war.   
   >   
   > Fredric Brown’s “Letter To A Phoenix” (still sticks in my mind from my   
   > earliest readings in SF):   
   >   
   >      I hope that never again is rediscovered the weapon Thragan used   
   >      against her colony on Skora, which was then the fifth planet until   
   >      the Thragans blew it into asteroids.   
   >   
   > But yes, the actual mass of the asteroids is way too small to make up   
   > a significant planet.   
   >   
   > In fact, I have heard our Solar System described as consisting of “the   
   > Sun, Jupiter, and assorted debris”.   
      
   That was Asimov, slightly reworded.   
      
   William Hyde   
      
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